Life-Changing Mile Motivates Marathon Mom

Several years ago, Dawn Nunes of Dartmouth, Mass., couldn’t even run a mile without huffing. The mother of four with two jobs wasn’t pleased with her shape. “I could not do it without even huffing,” she recalls. “It was ridiculous.”

This is no longer true for the 42-year-old. This Sunday, Nunes plans to run a half marathon in New Bedford. She is also planning to run the Boston Marathon next month.

Her journey as a runner is an inspirational one. Since she began taking running seriously, Nunes has dropped 50 pounds.

“Two-and-a-half miles turned into 5 miles turned into 8 miles and then before you know it, in October she ran the Amica half marathon,” said her friend, Jackie Francisco. “All she had to do was tell herself she could do it.”

Francisco helped convince Nunes to take up running, asking her to run a 2.5-mile time trial at a local running club.

Nunes is thankful for her friend’s persistence. “She hounded me and hounded me,” said Nunes. “…Just to appease her I went. I freaking loved it!”

Duncan Larkin

Duncan Larkin is a freelance journalist and author who’s been covering the sport of running for over a decade. He’s run 2:32 in the marathon and won the Himalayan 100-Mile Stage Race in 2007. He wrote the book RUN SIMPLE, and coaches runners of all abilities.
You can learn more about him here: http://roadsmillslaps.tumblr.com/about